


might just be memories

by youngerdrgrey



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-19
Updated: 2013-02-19
Packaged: 2017-11-29 21:23:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/691583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youngerdrgrey/pseuds/youngerdrgrey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Cora went a different route to get Regina on her side again? Like, say, over the town line?<br/>** functions under the assumption that anyone to go over the line loses their memory.</p>
            </blockquote>





	might just be memories

There’s a knock, a pounding sharp enough to crack through even the thickest of fogs. Regina blinks lazily, her eyes refocusing as the sound drives her from her bed. Words whispered hours before echo in her mind. ( _“Don’t answer the door, Regina.”_ ) Was that a dream, or reality? Why can’t she answer? She’s a grown woman, isn’t she? It’s her life. She leads her own, whether or not she knows what exactly she’s heading towards.

“Damnit, Regina! Stop pretending you’re not there! Dopey saw you coming home!”

“Dopey?” Regina repeats to herself. She fights for a face to go with the name.  _Dopey? Who names a child ‘Dopey’? A nickname perhaps? Sounds insulting_. She descends the stairs two at a time. Her mind continues searching, yet no face arises.  _Who’s Dopey? Is Dopey even a person? Perhaps a dog. A dog who can communicate with humans. Regina, don’t be ridiculous_. She berates herself and skids to a stop at the doorway.

“Come on, Regina. Don’t take it out on me now. I know you’re innocent.”

“Innocent?” She steps a bit closer, clears her throat to raise her voice loud enough to be heard. “I-I don’t know what that means.”

The woman on the other side sighs. It’s low and gruff. Has Regina upset her? The woman says, “Look, I’m sorry we weren’t listening to you before. Now we are, and there’s a lot more to deal with than this.”

Than what, Regina wants to ask. She bites her tongue. This woman didn’t seem too pleased the last time Regina spoke. Is she ever pleased?

The woman sighs, “It’s awkward talking through the door. I’m alone. I won’t hurt you. Open it.”

Regina shakes her head. The warning from before echoes again. It’s not from a dream. That’s definitely a memory. “I can’t.”

“You  _can’t_? What do you mean you can’t?”

Regina fidgets. The woman’s tone, the disbelief and barely veiled frustration, feels familiar. Too familiar. She bows her head as she talks. “Well, my mother told me —“

“Your mother?” the woman interjects. “You know that she’s here?”

Regina practically rolls her eyes. “Of course I do. Who else would take care of me?” A long silence follows. Regina waits for the other woman. What will she say? What’s this problem that Regina can help with? Is that what she does? She solves problems. She could do it again. At the very least, she could try. Her hand goes towards the doorknob. Has the woman gone? Is that why it’s so silent? Regina hopes not.

“Regina?” Regina’s hand stills above the knob. The woman’s still here. “Regina, please open the door. Your mom won’t be angry if you open it. You can trust me.”

Regina’s not sure why, but she believes this woman. She believes so she twists the knob. She pulls on the door, allowing the golden haired woman to step inside. Her hair flies in the wind and falls atop her shoulders much more gracefully than Regina’s short black hair does. The woman even has a sweater on, soft on the eyes and the pattern’s almost calming. Her face is much more demanding, more scrutinizing as her eyes rake over Regina and her lips part. The woman gasps. The sound sends a shiver down Regina’s spine, makes her lungs sputter and her own breath snag. Their eyes meet, and the plea in the woman’s roots Regina to her spot.

Regina sputters, “W-why are you looking at me like that?”

The woman shakes her head, one slow drag from side to side. “Shit,” she curses. “Regina, do you know what’s going on?”

Regina almost wants to answer that she does. Fake a response that will take away the fear in the woman’s eyes. Instead, she shakes her head. “I don’t. B-but my mother will tell me. She’s going to help me remember.”

The other woman’s eyes squeeze shut as her lips force out. “Remember what exactly?”

“Well, everything.”


End file.
